The Power of God's Word

Tony Reinke is, in my opinion, one of the better Christian bloggers.  His blog, The Shepherd's Scrapbook, is not only Biblical, Cross-centered, and convicting, but also beautiful.  Not many blogs can claim to be handsome, but Tony's gorgeous photographs and design provide an excellent backdrop for God's truth.

His most recent post (as of March 7th) was an excerpt from a book on Luther's theology.  Some highlights:

"When hearers were concentrating on their sinfulness, Luther emphasized that God considered them righteous, or counted and reckoned them free from sin through his verdict of “Innocent!”—no matter how they felt about themselves. . . .

"Those who see this form of forensic justification as merely a legal fiction do not share Luther’s understanding of the power of the Word of God. The reformer knew that from the beginning of the world, God determined reality by speaking.  Therefore, he was certain that God’s word of forgiveness created a new reality in the life of the sinner. The reformer could not explain the mystery of evil and sin continuing in the lives of those God had claimed as his own in baptism. But he did not doubt that when God said, “Forgiven,” the reality of human sinlessness in God’s sight was genuine and unassailable."